Life saving rescue capsule



Dec. 13, 1966 P. KRASNICK LIFE SAVING RESCUE CAPSULE Filed June 29INVENTR PULINE KRSNICK ATTOR NEY vivors.

32910s7 LIFE SAVING RESCUE CAPSULE Pauline Kransnick, 1705 East-WestHighway, Silver Spring, Md. Filed June 29, 1965, Set. No. 467,883 6Claims. (Cl. 11416.7)

This invention relates to life saving capsules or buoys for use on thehigh seas in rescue and escape from sunken submarines 01 from sinkingsurface craft, or disabled aircraft or other storm-wrecked structures atsea.

Many lives are lost at sea, as a result of wrecks of air, surface andsubmarine craft as well as underwater support structures, because of thelack of adequate life saving equpment, or prolonged exposure or drowningof the victims, before rescue ships are able to pick up the sur- Theobject of the present invention is to provide life saving capsules thatwill withstand the Water pressure at great depthg for escape of crewmembers fr-om sunken submarines, and will provide means for sustaininglife for long periods of time before they may be found by rescue crews.

Another object is to provide means for stabilizing the capsule in roughweather so as to reduce rolling to a minimum.

A further object is to provide breather means in the top of the capsulewhich will have some open vents to the air above the surface of thewater at all times, even in the roughest sea, no matter what position ofroll the capsule may be in.

A further object is to use a substantially ellipsoidal form of capsulerequiring minimum wall thickness for greatest strength against theexternal water pressure, and an additinal air belt near the top of thecapsule to provide more buoyancy in the upper portions of the capsule. Afurther object is to use a weight in the bottom of the capsule and afloor spaced above said weight to provide a space therebetween, forbattery, fresh water, food and other storage compartments such as forflares, paddles, etc. having access doors in the floor, and a waste sumpand disposal pump operated by a handle extending upwardly from thefloor.

A further object is to provide at least one hinged seat that may beturned up and folded against the side of the capsule, and has a seatbelt for use when the seat is down.

Other and more specfic objects will become apparent in the followingdetailed description of a preferred form of the nvention as illustrateclin the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view through the capsule showing thearrangement of parts inside,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view through a portion of a submarine showing theescape chamber, from which the cap sules are released one at a timethrough a hatch door on top,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of one of the check valvesin the air vent tubes, and

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

The capsule as illustrated in the drawing consists of the main bodyportion 12 and a domed cover portion 14, forming a continuousellipsoidal chamber wall when the domed portion is secured in place byclamp bolts 18, which are fastened by means of wing nuts 16 under therim flange 20 extending internally from the beveled sea]- ing surface 22to provide an air tight seal.

The main body portion 12 has an annular air belt 24 formed by a wall 26extending outwardly from the bevelled surface 22 toapproximately thediameter of the widest dimension of the body portion 12 and then curvingdown into a cylindrical porton of the wall 26 which runs United StatesPatent C) 3,291,087 Patentecl Dec. 13, 1966 into the ellipsoidal chamberwall at its widest point. This air belt provides additional -buoyancy inthe upper part of main body portion to reduce its rolling tendency dueto wave action.

A ballast weight 28 is provided in the bottom of the main body portion12 to add stability in a turbulent sea. A floor 30 spaced above thisballast weight provides space for a fresh water tank 32, and storagechambers 34 and 36 for food and ether supplies 38 and for the battery40, respectively. A sump 42 covered by a grate 44 substantially in themiddle of the floor, drains into the rear end of purnp cylindr 46, whichis normally closed at it outer and lower end by a normally closed checkvalve 48 in the wall of the main body portion 12. The pump pston 50 hasa rigidly fixed connector rod 52 pivoted to the lower end of lever 54 inthe sump. Lever 54 is pivoted at the door 30 and has an upwardlyextending arm 56 with a handle 58 for operation by the occupantsurvivor(s) whenever it is desired to eliminate the sump contents bydischarging them through the check valve 48. A lower segmental portionof the substantially flat piston 50 may be hinged to provide an inletvalve into the pump chamber 52 by opening during the inward stroke ofthe piston and closing during the outward stroke to force the pumpchamber contents out through the check valve 48. Pump arm 56 may be maderemovable, so as to prevent injury to oceupants in a rough sea, byremoving it when not in use.

The water tank may be provided with a hand pump 53 for drawing water outof it into a drinking cup or ladle 55, and trap doors 59 and 60 in thefloor may be providecl over the storage and battery compartmentsrespectively. Hinged seats 62 may be provided -on opposite sides for useeither to sit on or a supports for a platform 64 to stand on when thedomed cover portion is removed in calm waters, so as to enable the-cccupant(s) to fish or paddle the capsule to safety if necessary. Theplatform may be a pallet normally used on the floor 30 to distribute theweight of the oceupant(s) inore widely over floor 30.

The domed cover portion has Windows 66 for observation in all directionsWhile it is secured in place for protection against the elements, aswell as against excessive pressures during the escape journey from greatdepths. During this deep water journey, sea water which might leekthrough the breather valve in the ends of tubes 63, is prevented fromentering the capsule through these tubes which open into the breathingchamber 70 in the top of the domed cover, by the check valve 72 in thefloor of the breathing chamber '70. However, after the capsule reachesthe surface of the water, valve 72 opens automatically in response toany excess pressure inside the capsule resultng from the use of oxygenreleased at a desired rate from an oxygen tank '74 mounted on the floorin the main body portion. Valve 72 may be manually locked in openposition if desired to permit normal breathing operation of the tubes,as caused by fresh air entering the tubes extending into the wind andleaving the tubes which happen to be turned away from the wind, causinga flow in chamber 70 between the tubes. As the fresh air passes over theopen valve 72 on its way between the tubes, some of it is deflected intothe capsule on one side of the valve, causing some of the stale air toflow out of the capsule into chamber 70 on the other side of the valve.When the capsule is tossed around in a rough sea, the tube ends 75 whichare dipped into the water are automatically closed by the breather valve'76 in each tube, since valves 76 are made of material which is lighterthan water. which is splashed into the air and strikes the ends of tubesabove the surface of the water will not pass the valve but will merelyfioat t into closed position. While only four Even water breather tubes68 are illustrated, any other number may be used in the same way tomaintain ventilation at all times because at least some of the ends willbe above water no matter how great the turbulence of the Water and therolling and tossing of the capsule.

A smooth cap 78 is mounted over the tops of the breather tubes 68 forstreamlinng purposes so that in the escape journey from the bottom ofthe sea, the tubes do not get tangled in any foliage or other obstaclesin the water, but will glide through any obstructions that it mightotherwise be impossble to get through.

Cap 48 may have a lens 80 built in for projecting a beam of lightproduced by an electric light bulb 82 operated from the battery 40. Aswitch and key may be used in the light circuit to produce a constantlight beam or to make it flash, so as to ad search parties to readilyfind and rescue the victims in the capsules, after a storm has subsidedsuficiently. One or more flags 85, may be carried inside the capsule andmay be mounted in sockets 87 provided for them in the rim flange 20,when the cover portion is opened.

These life saving capsules may be designed for deep sea submarinerescue, when the submariue has a special chamber for launching orreleasing the capsules such as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 4. Therelease chamber 79 below the deck 81 of the submarine has one or morecapsules stowed away for use in the event the submarine is disabled. Thecrew enters this chamber through the bulk head door 83 and boards theirrespective capsules, the cover portions 14 being swung open into thespace 84. The covers are then closed and locked in place from the insidebefore the hatch or hatches 86 are opened to allow the capsules to befloated therethrough, and the crew is safely brought to the top ofwater, and if the weather permits and the crew desres to paddle theircapsule, cover portion 14 may be opened and will float alongside thecapsule, as shown partially in broken lines in FIG. l, because the hingecomprises a pair of loose interlooped rings 88 and 90 in planessubstantially perpendicular to each other, one ring 88 being firmlyfixed to the top of the air belt and the other 90 to the cover portion14. The bevelled surfaces of the opposed sealing ring edges of the mainbody portion 12 and the cover portion 14, at 22 may be conical orspherical, the latter being preferred because they will provide a goodseal even f the parts are slightly cocked out of alignment.

When the cover portion 14 is opened and floatng alongside the capsule,the platform 64 may be placed over the seats 62 to provide a rased floorfor the crew enabling it to navigate toward land or safety by the use ofpaddles 92 over the sides of the capsule. The lght 94 inside the coverportion is connected to the battery 40 for inside lighting or forflashing if desired when the cover portion is opened. One or more hangerstraps 96 may be provided inside the cover portion for the occupants useto steady themselves against being tossed about during heavy seas. Seatstraps 98 may also be provided for this purpose, and a suitable cushionlining 100 may be used on the inside of the capsule main body portion12, to prevent accidental injuries to the upper parts of the body of theoccupant who sits on one of the seats or attempts to stand up in thecapsule in a heavy sea.

For addtional electrical power supply or in the event of failure of thebattery a manually operated magnetemotor may be mounted in the batterycompartment alongside the battery for operation by a foot pedal, and maybe switched into the battery circuit when desired.

It will be noted that the pressure in the capsule need never be muchmore than atmospheric even when tnaking an underwater escape at greatdepth, because the struc ture is such that it will stand a greatpressure dilferential and the sump pump discharge valve will normallyrelease any excess pressure in the capsule upon surfacing, so that nodecompression will be necessary and the occupants need not be subject tothe bends upon reaching the surface.

In the event that the capsule should get stuck under some obstructionsuch as heavy undersea foliage or debris, and some time elapses beforesurfacing of the capsule, the oxygen supply may be turned on from thetank 74 at a suitable rate and the sump pump may be used to eject anyexcess pressure inside the capsule. Also a supply of powdered dye may bestored in the capsule for such emergencies and released through the sumppump t0 fioat to the surface of the sea and help rescue crews to locatethe capsule in distress.

Many ether obvious modificatons in details and arrangement of parts maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A life saving escape capsule for victms of a sunken vessel orstructure at sea, comprising an ellipsoidal body large enough toaccommodate at least one person, composed of a main body portion and adomed cover portion, said main body portion having an air belt aroundits upper end,

the domed cover portion forming the top of the capsule and beng seatedon a concally bevelled seat on the upper edge of the main body portioninside said air belt, and

breathing tubes extending upwardly from said domed cover portion andhaving outwardly and downwardly curved ends provided with normallyopened check valves of water buoyant material, causing them to closeinwardly upon movement of any water into the end of the tube,

a ballast weight in the lower end of the capsule to improve its uprightstablity while moving through or floatng on the surface of the water,and

a floor spaced over the top of said ballast weight pro vidingcompartments under the floor for fresh water, f-ood and equipmentstorage, and a battery, the battery and water compartments being onopposite sides of the vertical axis of the capsule to maintainsubstantial balance in this addition mass supplementing the ballastweight,

a sump substantially in the mddle of the floor leadng drectly into therear end of a pump cylnder which is nclined outwardly to the side of thecapsule body where it is normally closed by a one way outlet checkvalve, and

a piston operated manually in said cylnder and having a substantiallyflat head with a hnged segment in its lower portion serving as a trapvalve normally closed when the pston is moved outwardly on its pressurestroke t0 eject the contents of the cylnder through said trap valve inthe side of the capsule body, and opened by the suction pr-oduced in thecylnder when the piston is moved inwardly, to allow the matter in thesump to enter the cylnder for ejection during the pressure stroke.

2. An escape capsule as defined in claim I,

said domed cover portion being loosely hinged to the top of said mainbody portion so that when opened in a calm sea, it may be turned over tofloatng position alongside the main body portion,

mounting sockets being provided in the top of said main body portion tohold flags andother signal levices that may be placed therein.

3. An escape capsule as defined in claim 1, and

a loose platform normally placed on the floor fordistributing the weightof the occupant(s) over the floor,

a pair of hinged seats on opposite walls of said capsule,

said platform being adapted for placing over said seats to provide aplace to stand on when the domed cover has been removed, to enable theoccupant(s) to navia cushon pad around the wall of the capsule toprevent gate and fish when desired. injuries to the head of a seatedoccupant in a heavy 4. An escape capsule as defined in claim 1, sea.said fresh water compartment being provided with a References Cited bythe Examiner hand fpump and spgot f0r Withdrawng drinking water 5 UNITEDSTATES PATENTS the1e rom.

1019356 3/1912 Pontiere 114-16.7

5. An escape capsule as defined 1n cla1m 1, 1,257014 2/1918 Niemiec 11416l7 X a pump handle extendng upwardly from the floor and connected tooperate said fiat-headed pston, sad

handle being removable to elimnate a hazard when 10 FERGUS S. MIDDLETON,prmary Examner the iston is not operated. 6. An escape capsule asdefined in claim 3, MILTON BUCHLER Exammer' a seat belt being providedfor each seat, and T. M. BLIX, Assistant Examner.

2780,224 2/1957 Wallace 128-145

1. A LIFE SAVING ESCAPE CAPSULE FOR VICTIMS OF A SUNKEN VESSEL ORSTRUCTURE AT SEA, COMPRISING AN ELLIPSOIDAL BODY LARGE ENOUGH TOACCOMMODATE AT LEAST ONE PERSON, COMPOSED OF A MAIN BODY PORTION AND ADOMED COVER PORTION, SAID MAIN BODY PORTION HAVING AN AIR BELT AROUNDITS UPPER END, THE DOMED COVER PORTION FORMING THE TOP OF THE CAPSULEAND BEING SEATED ON A CONICALLY BEVELLED SEAT ON THE UPPER EDGE OF THEMAIN BODY PORTION INSIDE SAID AIR BELT, AND BREATHING TUBES EXTENDINGUPWARDLY FROM SAID DOMED COVER PORTION AND HAVING OUTWARDLY ANDDOWNWARDLY CURVED ENDS PROVIDED WITH NORMALLY OPENED CHECK VALVES OFWATER BUOYANT MATERIAL, CAUSING THEM TO CLOSE INWARDLY UPON MOVEMENT OFANY WATER INTO THE END OF THE TUBE, A BALLAST WEIGHT IN THE LOWER END OFTHE CAPSULE TO IMPROVE ITS UPRIGHT STABILITY WHILE MOVING THROUGH ORFLOATING ON THE SURFACE OF THE WATER, AND A FLOOR SPACED OVER THE TOP OFSAID BALLAST WEIGHT PROVIDING COMPARTMENTS UNDER THE FLOOR FOR FRESHWATER, FOOD AND EQUIPMENT STORAGE, AND A BATTERY, THE BATTERY AND WATERCOMPARTMENTS BEING ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE VERTICAL AXIS OF THE CAPSULETO MAINTAIN SUBSTANTIAL BALANCE IN THIS ADDITION MASS SUPPLEMENTING THEBALLAST WEIGHT, A SUMP SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR LEADINGDIRECTLY INTO THE REAR END OF A PUMP CYLINDER WHICH IS INCLINEDOUTWARDLY TO THE SIDE OF THE CAPSULE BODY WHERE IT IS NORMALLY CLOSED BYA ONE WAY OUTLET CHECK VALVE, AND A PISTON OPERATED MANUALLY IN SAIDCYLINDER AND HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT HEAD WITH A HINGED SEGMENT INITS LOWER PORTION SERVING AS A TRAP VALVE NORMALLY CLOSED WHEN THEPISTON IS MOVED OUTWARDLY ON ITS PRESSURE STROKE TO EJECT THE CONTENTSOF THE CYLINDER THROUGH SAID TRAP VALVE IN THE SIDE OF THE CAPSULE BODY,AND OPENED BY THE SUCTION PRODUCED IN THE CYLINDER WHEN THE PISTON ISMOVED INWARDLY, TO ALLOW THE MATTER IN THE SUMP TO ENTER THE CYLINDERFOR EJECTION DURING THE PRESSURE STROKE.